


Single Thread of Gold

by FionaNotJuliet



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Childhood Friends, Friends to Lovers, KuroKen - Freeform, M/M, Mutual Pining, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:53:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28307814
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FionaNotJuliet/pseuds/FionaNotJuliet
Summary: Everybody knew that it was pointless to try and date before your 18th birthday.Sure, dating and flirting was fun, but what was the point when it could easily be undone in a matter of seconds?The 18th birthday was the beginning of the end for many couples. That was the day that a person’s soulmate mark would appear.The marks would only be visible to both soulmates once both parties were 18 and, in fact, soulmates.
Relationships: Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou
Comments: 11
Kudos: 200
Collections: Kuroken Christmas Exchange 2020





	Single Thread of Gold

**Author's Note:**

> This story was part of the Kuroken Exchange. It's dedicated to @flipsideofc on twitter.

Everybody knew that it was pointless to try and date before your 18th birthday. 

Sure, dating and flirting was fun, but what was the point when it could easily be undone in a matter of seconds? 

The 18th birthday was the beginning of the end for many couples. That was the day that a person’s soulmate mark would appear. 

The marks would only be visible to both soulmates once both parties were 18 and, in fact, soulmates. 

Kenma never cared for the idea of soulmates. Who wanted to be stuck with a person that ‘fate’ predetermined for you? He wanted to find his own love, if such a thing existed. 

His best friend, Kuroo, disagreed. 

As the two grew up together, Kuroo couldn’t stop gushing about how he couldn’t wait to turn 18 and find out who would be the love of his life.

Kenma made another face as he looked at the documentary on soulmates that Kuroo had changed the channel to.

“Don’t you think it’s kind of boring?”

Kuroo tilted his head towards Kenma, trying to figure out what he meant.

Sighing, Kenma nodded his head at the tv. “The idea that you have to be with someone just because the universe decided?”

Humming softly to himself, Kuroo thought for a moment, before giving his answer. “I think it’s romantic. Just the idea that the universe set out for you and this one special person to meet? That’s really something special.”

“Maybe. But there are lots of soulmates who just never meet,” Kenma pointed out, nestling himself in the corner of the couch, his side pressed against Kuroo’s. 

Clicking his tongue, Kuroo pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and placed it over both of their laps. “But there’s also plenty of soulmates who  _ do _ meet, Kenma. What will you do when you turn 18?”

“Nothing? I’m not going out of my way to search for someone that might not even be in Japan.”

Kuroo sighed and lightly shook his head. “It’s not about searching for them. It’s fate. They come to you.”

“Mm. I just don’t think it’ll work like that for me.”

“You’re so hard headed,” Kuroo teased, lightly tugging on a strand of Kenma’s hair that had fallen from the loose pony-tail he’d settled at the base of his skull. 

“Oh, yeah? Well, what about you? You’re already 18 and you still haven’t met your soulmate, right?” 

As soon as the words had left his lips, a sinking feeling settled in the pit of Kenma’s stomach. He couldn’t place why the thought had left his stomach feeling so strange, but he knew he didn’t want to think too far into it. 

Smiling softly, Kuroo nodded. “You’re right. But there’s plenty of reasons that may be.”

After a beat, Kenma lightly kicked at Kuroo’s leg. 

“Are you planning on sharing those reasons?”

“Ow! Kenma!”

“What? You paused like you’re so ancient and wise. You’re 18, not 98.”

Sighing, Kuroo stole more of the blanket, showing his petulant side. 

“Think about it. I’m still at Nekoma. There’s so many options that haven’t even opened up for me. A lot of people don’t meet their soulmates until they’re well into their twenties. Which means they’ve had a lot more life experience than I’ve had. Plus…” He trailed off, biting his lip as a way to stop himself from saying his next thought.

“Plus?” Kenma questioned, raising an eyebrow at the older boy. 

“Just plus. There’s not some scientific solution to this, Kenma. Soulmates fall into each other. There’s distance and age differences and changing interests that can all collide to change the factors that would lead to two people being destined for each other.”

Rolling his eyes, Kenma pushed Kuroo and stole the rest of the blanket. “Fine. I still don’t think it’s going to happen to me,” he said, knowing that Kuroo was unlikely to fully finish his statement from before. 

A pout began to form on Kuroo’s face, but he accepted that Kenma was done with the conversation and grabbed the remote to change the channel to something they could both enjoy. After a few moments of scrolling through the channels, Kuroo stopped at a movie. 

The moment Kenma realized the channel had been changed, he smiled and happily offered Kuroo more of the blanket. 

“Brat,” the older boy muttered, before smiling softly. 

\---

The two friends had decided to let the topics of soulmates go for the time being. 

Things smoothly settled back into place between the two. They went to school. They practiced volleyball. Everything was exactly the same as always. 

Except. 

Maybe it wasn’t. 

Kenma couldn’t exactly put a finger on it, but something felt different to him now when he thought about Kuroo and soulmates. Especially when he thought of Kuroo finding  _ his _ soulmate. 

Would Kuroo have any more time for him?

Is it possible that Kuroo would decide he was too cynical and move on to better friends who were more likely to help him find his soulmate?

What if Kuroo found his soulmate and they hated Kenma? Could it be possible that Kuroo would choose the soulmate over him?

He knew that Kuroo wasn’t cruel and he knew the other boy wouldn’t want to hurt him. But he also knew how deeply Kuroo yearned to find his soulmate, to fall in love with the person that he was destined to be with forever. 

Kenma liked to think that he would be unselfish and would simply move aside at the first sign of animosity so that Kuroo wouldn’t even have to make that type of difficult decision. 

Except. 

Kenma knew that he was selfish. 

He’d had Kuroo in his life for so long at this point that he genuinely wasn’t sure if he would know how to function without the older boy there. 

Unfortunately, he knew there was a time that the two would have to learn to be less codependent. 

And that time was approaching quickly. 

Dread filled Kenma’s stomach once again as he thought of the fact that Kuroo’s graduation was getting closer with each passing day. 

Of course, he was happy for Kuroo. But he was also dreading it. 

For the first time since meeting one another, the two were going to be separated. Not just by a different school, but nearly the entire city's length. 

Sure, logically, he knew they would likely meet up on the weekends when they could, but he also knew that it was entirely possible that Kuroo would become bogged down with university work and unable to meet up. 

With each passing day, the cold feeling spread through Kenma until, finally, the day arrived that Kuroo would be going to his apartment on the other side of Tokyo. 

Chewing on his bottom lip, Kenma stood in front of Kuroo who had a few bags ready to be packed in his father’s car who would brave the heavy Tokyo traffic to ensure his son’s safe arrival to the small apartment rented near the university of Kuroo’s choice. 

Closing the trunk, Kuroo dusted his hands off and turned to Kenma. He immediately took note of the pale look on Kenma’s face and had to stop himself from panicking. 

“Hey! Kyanma. Don’t look so down. I’m not going away forever,” he said, using the nickname in the hopes that it would help to quell some of the clear anxiety on his best friend’s face. 

“I know. It’s just going to be different.” 

Kenma hated to feel so vulnerable. He wanted to be seen as strong. He’d worked so hard to get to this point and it felt like it was all being washed away with Kuroo. 

“Of course it’s going to be different. Just like when we switched from primary school to middle school and then high school. But the time is going to fly by and before you know it, you’ll be moving out to be with me.”

Kenma’s eyes widened. 

It wasn’t something that the pair had discussed, but clearly it was something they both had considered to be their future. 

There was just an understanding between the two that they would end up living together once Kenma graduated high school, despite the fact that the two weren’t sure which path the younger boy would take academically. 

In a rare moment of affection, Kenma closed the distance between the pair, his arms wrapping around Kuroo’s waist, squeezing the older boy tightly. 

It was Kuroo’s turn for his eyes to widen as he realized that Kenma was hugging him. Without a second thought, he lowered his arms so they would wrap around Kenma and hold him tightly. 

“It's going to be okay. We’ll video chat and I’ll watch all of your streams. We’ll see each other during all of our breaks,” Kuroo promised, resting his cheek against the shorter boy’s head. 

Taking in a deep breath, Kenma nodded his head, before squeezing once more and taking a step back. 

“I’m holding you to that, Kuro,” he said, stepping back again to give them enough space so Kuroo could actually leave. 

“I don’t doubt you for a second.”

They gave each other a bitter sweet smile and waved goodbye.

\---

The two met as frequently as their schedules would allow. Kenma was busy often with practice, realizing quickly that Fukunaga was a surprisingly strict captain. While Kuroo was often busier with classes and assignments than he could have anticipated.

But they managed. 

One summer night towards the end of their shared break time, the two settled outside on a blanket spread out in a park. It was far enough from a nearby festival that they wouldn’t run into too many people, while still being close enough that they would have an excellent view of the fireworks. 

Despite not wanting to know the answer, a question tugged at Kenma’s heart. He couldn’t stop himself from asking it even if he tried. 

“Kuro,” he paused, not quite looking at the older boy settled next to him on the blanket. 

“Yeah, Kenma?” Came the relaxed reply, making Kenma wonder if he potentially woke him. 

Taking a breath, he tried to keep his voice steady. “Have you found your soulmate?”

The question came out quieter than he really had meant for it to and he wondered for a moment if Kuroo would come to any conclusions from the softness. 

“Ah,” the raven haired boy said, sitting up so that he could look down at Kenma with more ease. “Why are you asking?”

“Just wondering,” Kenma said, the words rushing past his lips faster than he meant for them. 

A crooked smirk settled on the older boy’s lips, but he didn’t make any comment towards the strange pace of the conversation. “Well, you’d be the first to know if I had.”

Something calmed in Kenma’s stomach as he nodded, not quite looking back at Kuroo. 

“So. No.”

A laugh was his first answer, followed by Kuroo playfully flicking his nose. “So. No.”

Of course, Kuroo wanted to ask what brought the sudden question on. Even more so, he wanted to ask what caused Kenma’s sudden sense of relief as the younger boy released a breath and let an easy smile spread across his lips. 

But Kuroo wouldn’t ask. 

He couldn’t ask. 

Maybe a part of him knew the answers he was looking for. But he also hated the idea of jumping to conclusions. So he let the questions hang in the same limbo they’d seemed to live in along with a multitude of other unasked and unanswered questions. 

Suddenly, a crack went off in the distance and a bright, gold glow filled the night sky.

Kuroo settled back down next to Kenma and looked up at the night sky. His right hand itched to reach the few inches across the blanket, wanting to wrap his fingers around his closest friend’s own hand. 

Kenma felt an imaginary tug on his left hand, almost as if it wanted to smooth its way across the blanket and curl its fingers around the older boy’s own hand. 

As if on cue, the two pulled their respective right and left hands to their own chests, making sure they stayed in place, rather than where they wished they could lay. 

\---

Summer easily gave way to fall. 

It had been harder to see each other given the changing seasons meant changes to their respective schedules, but they knew this was one appointment that the two couldn’t change. 

October 16th marked a special day. 

Kenma’s 18th birthday was on the horizon and the two knew they would have to spend the day together; it was tradition, after all. 

Kuroo arrived the day before, a grin on his face as he let himself into the Kozume household as he’d done many times in the past. 

“Kenma!” He called, pulling his slippers from his cubby and replacing them with his own shoes. 

Having not realized the time, Kenma’s eyes lit up, before he paused his game and apologized to his live stream. “Sorry. I have to go.” 

He ignored the chat where his few hundred followers began to ask who had called out to him, and ended the live stream before hurrying downstairs. 

“Kuro!” He answered back, flying down the stairs and immediately colliding with the older boy. 

“Oof!” 

The two smacked into each other, nearly knocking the wind out of both of them, but thanks to Kuroo’s quick reflexes, they managed to avoid crashing to the ground. 

“Someone miss me?” He teased, reaching up to pull at Kenma’s hair, taking a mental note of the new length.

Realizing how excited he came off, Kenma swatted at Kuroo’s hand and took a step back. 

“No! I just wanted to see what present some poor university guy could manage to get me.”

“Am I not present enough?”

“No.”

Kuroo pretended to grasp his chest over his heart. “You wound me, Kenma. And I came all this way.”

Squinting his eyes, Kenma pointed at the door. “And you can leave if you don’t have a present.”

“Hurt. I’m truly hurt. And after all I went through.”

“It’s a train ride away. You didn’t go through that much.”

A glint seemed to appear in Kuroo’s eyes as he looked at Kenma. “Oh? But you don’t even know what I went through to get your present here.”

Kenma looked him up and down, before glancing down the hall to his luggage. 

“That looks like a normal load to me.”

“Oh. But it isn’t. I found something special on the way to the station. I had to break the law, even.”

Growing more suspicious, Kenma stood on his tip-toes to look Kuroo directly in the eyes. “What are you going on about?”

“Ah. Okay, okay. Let me go get the box.”

Turning, Kuroo went back to his luggage and pulled a box from under his jacket. Gently, he picked the box up and carried it over to Kenma. 

“Sorry that it’s not wrapped. But I really did just find it.”

Furrowing his brows, Kenma looked at the box inquisitively. “Did you bring me trash, Kuro?”

“No! I would never!”

“I don’t know. The box kind of looks like it was found in an alleyway.” 

“That’s because it was… No. You know what? Just open it.”

Kenma didn’t really want to touch the box, but he knew that Kuroo wouldn’t do anything wrong by him. Reluctantly, he reached out and was just about to open the closed flaps when he heard a little mew. 

“You did not.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t open it,” Kuroo said, a smirk on his lips once again. 

Moving quickly, Kenma opened the flaps of the box that Kuroo had tucked closed. Inside was a little, orange tabby cat that seemed to have a bobbed tail. 

Eyes softening, Kenma gently reached out to pet the kitten, nearly tearing up as it rubbed it’s little head against his hand. 

“Go ahead. Pick him up.”

Carefully, the younger boy reached out for the kitten, lifting him out of the box and into his arms. He cradled the kitten to his chest and looked up at Kuroo. 

“What happened? How did you find him?”

Setting the box down, Kuroo led them both to the couch where they sat down so Kenma could properly listen to the story and cradle his new gift. 

“I really did just find him. I was on my way to the train station when I heard a sad, little meow. I wasn’t going to pay it any mind, but no sooner than I was about to leave, this little guy comes trotting up to me and practically screams at me to take him home.”

“So you just picked him up?”

“Well, I knew you were missing Momo and the way he just came up to me and screamed for me to pick him up. It just reminded me of you.”

Kenma lightly pet the bridge of the kitten’s nose, marvelling at the way it happily purred in his arms. Momo had been his childhood cat and it was true that he’d missed her ever since she passed away. 

“So how’d you get him here?”

Kuroo chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. “Yeah… That’s kind of the illegal part. See. I kind of just stuffed him in my pocket and hoped he wouldn’t meow too loudly on the train. But luckily he seemed to be pretty tired and he slept the whole way here.”

Kenma looked at him for a moment, before bursting out laughing, causing the kitten in his arms to meow indignantly since it was about to fall asleep. 

“You found a cat on the street and decided, ‘Yes, this is the perfect gift for Kenma, nevermind the fact that I have no way to get it home, it’s perfect.’”

Shrugging, Kuroo looked absolutely unapologetic. “Pretty much.”

“So you didn’t get me a real gift.”

“I  _ am _ the gift, you ungrateful brat!”

“Shouyou is a better gift.”

A dark look crossed Kuroo’s face and he had to take a breath before he let his jealousy show too much. “And what does chibichan have to do with anything?”

Letting out another laugh, Kenma shook his head. “Not Hinata Shouyou. The kitten is Shouyou.”

Kuroo stared at his best friend another moment longer. “You’re naming the kitten after chibichan?!”

“Yep. Deal with it,” he responded, unapologetically. 

“I can’t believe you.”

The two easily settled into their old routine, as if no time had ever passed. 

Kenma had always been thankful that they were able to get along no matter what. They’d had small fights over the years, but nothing life shattering. No matter what, they always fell back into step. 

It was easy for the two to function without communicating. 

Without a word, Kenma would stand up, Shouyou-the-kitten in tow, and Kuroo would stand to follow. 

Unceremoniously, Kenma proffered the kitten to Kuroo, who, despite all his bolstering of being a dog person, happily accepted the tailless fuzz ball. The older boy held the kitten without question as Kenma went to the storage in their attic to grab the old cat tower and litter box that had been retired once Momo had passed. 

They worked in silence, each with their own task until the kitten had its own set up in the corner of Kenma’s room. 

With Shouyou-the-kitten taken care of, the two settled down on Kenma’s bed. 

“Kuro. Thank you.”

He smiled softly at his best friend, feeling his heart warm more than he could ever anticipate. Something in him just felt at peace knowing that, after all this time, Kuroo still knew how to make him feel loved. 

And it was at that moment Kenma realized an important, but horrific, yet perfect, truth. 

He was in love with Kuroo. 

And he ached to have the other boy love him back. 

Taking a deep breath, Kenma tried to settle his heart. He hated the way his eyes began to tear up. More so, he hated the way that he loved how Kuroo noticed immediately. 

“Hey. What’s wrong?” Kuroo reached down and carefully wiped away the tear that had begun to make its way down the corner of his eye. 

Shaking his head, Kenma forced a smile and pulled away. 

“I’m just really happy, Kuro.”

They both knew it was a lie. 

But Kuroo didn’t have the heart to call him out on it. His own heart began to break as he realized there was so much that he couldn’t do to help his best friend; there was so much he couldn’t protect him from. 

Kuro gave him a strained smile, before moving his hand so he could ruffle Kenma’s hair. 

“You know. Since I got in so late, it’s almost officially your birthday.”

Kenma gave him a genuine smile now, happy to have the topic changed. 

“I’m going to be old like you,” he teased, before sticking his tongue out. 

“I’m not old!”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

Kenma hummed for a moment, pretending to think.

“You are.”

“Brat.”

“Grandpa.”

The two stared at each other, before bursting into laughter. 

“I can’t wait until you move closer to me,” Kuroo said, laying down beside Kenma on the twin sized bed. 

“So I can call you old every day?”

“Ugh. No. So we can be just like this,” Kuroo said, his right hand reaching out so his fingertips just lightly brushed against Kenma’s left hand. 

Biting his bottom lip, Kenma turned his left hand so their fingertips could touch. Taking a shaky breath, he let their fingers intertwine. 

Kenma turned his head, instantly meeting Kuroo’s own eyes as they faced each other. 

“A cat. With fireworks behind it.” The words were so quiet, Kenma wasn’t sure he heard them at first. 

“What?” He whispered, too afraid to speak too loudly. 

“That’s what my soulmate mark is.”

Realization dawned on Kenma as he stared at Kuroo, trying to process why he’d divulge that sort of information. It was an unspoken rule that you kept your soulmate mark to yourself, until you found your soulmate. 

“W- Why?”

“I want it to be you.”

Kuroo spoke so quickly that Kenma almost didn’t understand. 

The tears came back to his eyes, reflecting the same ones that now shined in Kuroo’s own gaze. 

“Kuro…”

“I know we might not be it. I know the odds are against us if we don’t match. But I don’t care, Kenma. You’re the one I love.”

Licking his lips, Kenma tried to form a proper sentence, but he found that it was becoming harder for him to breathe. So, Kuroo pushed on. 

“I know I’ve always loved the idea of the soulmate mark, but it’s really because I was so sure it was going to be you. I want it to be you. So bad. But even if it isn’t, I don’t care. Fate can go fuck itself for all I care.”

Tears began to spill down Kenma’s face as he looked back at Kuroo. His best friend had always been passionate and had always found a way with words that Kenma just couldn’t match. Once again, he found himself struggling to think of a way to respond. 

After a moment, Kenma decided that words weren’t able to do Kuroo’s confession justice. Sitting up, Kenma reached forward with his left hand to cup Kuroo’s face. He leaned in to press a soft, nearly too soft, kiss to his best friend’s lips. 

Despite how slow the kiss happened, Kuroo stared in shock as his best friend reached forward to hold his face and kiss him. Except, it wasn’t that he was surprised that the kiss was happening, his eyes had caught a glimpse of something familiar. 

It was something that he knew like the back of his hand; or rather, like his right wrist. 

Pulling back from the kiss, Kuroo gently took Kenma’s left wrist in his hand and looked down at it. 

Having misread the situation, Kenma’s cheeks flushed and he felt like an idiot. He shouldn’t have kissed Kuroo without asking. He shouldn’t have moved so fast. He shouldn’t…

He was pulled from his thoughts as Kuroo began to laugh. And cry. 

Now, Kenma found himself concerned for a whole other slew of reasons. 

“Kuro? What are you laughing about?” His words were watery as he fought back the tears from the many emotions he was feeling in that moment. 

Kuroo simply shook his head and brought Kenma’s wrist to his lips, pressing a reverent kiss over a smudge of black that hadn’t been there before. 

“Kuro?” Kenma asked again, gently tugging his wrist, hoping the other boy would realize that he wanted to see what was so important. 

Without another word, Kuroo released Kenma’s wrist and let the biggest smile spread across his lips as the black smudge became clear. 

A cat with a show of fireworks behind it was inked onto Kenma’s skin. 

Staring for a moment, Kenma took some time to let it sink in. 

They shared a soulmate mark. 

Without a word, Kuroo placed his wrist next to Kenma’s, showing the exact same image mirrored on his right wrist. 

They could see each other’s soulmate marks. 

Looking to the digital clock on his night stand, Kenma took note of the time. 12:05 am. October 16th. 

It was his 18th birthday. 

“We’re soulmates,” he said, the words coming out slowly, like syrup. 

“We’re soulmates,” Kuroo repeated, the brightest grin that Kenma had ever seen lit the raven haired boy’s face. 

“We’re soulmates!” Kenma said, a new rush of excitement hitting him as he launched himself the few centimeters across the bed to wrap his arms around Kuroo’s neck, their lips crashing together in a much less graceful kiss than a few moments ago. 

The two laughed together as they righted themselves, Kuroo sitting up properly so he could easily pull Kenma up, as well. 

“So. Does that mean you love me, too, Kenma?” He said it with a lazy, knowing smile. He never needed words to understand Kenma, but sometimes it was nice to hear; this was one of those times. 

“I love you, Kuroo. I would have chosen you even without fate.”

“Ah. But fate was on our side, my love.”

They both stopped and stared at each other, smiles on both of their faces as they took in Kuroo’s words. 

“You’re so corny.”

“But you love me anyway.”

Leaning in to steal another kiss, Kenma smiled.

“Yes, I do.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed this work. If so, give me a follow on twitter @fionanotjuliet


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